Golden Warrior
by ChukFolchart
Summary: Alice is abducted by Captain Hook, where she meets Peter in Neverland.  Peter Pan/Alice in Wonderland crossover.  Based on relatively recent movies. Peter/Alic. Rated T to be safe.
1. Chapter 1

**So… I don't really know how this happened, okay? I went from watching Peter Pan to watching Alice in Wonderland too quickly, and I had this idea of how Alice was a better match for Peter than Wendy was. And I got a little obsessed, and eventually put the idea on my to-do list. **

**Disclaimer: I do not own Peter Pan, Alice in Wonderland, or the characters. I make no profit from these stories. **

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><p>Alice tightened the sail, trying not to let herself block out the roaring screams of the men around her. She'd known there were pirates on the water, and she'd discussed the possibility they'd run into them many times. Discussing a plan and performing a plan through a panic were very different things.<p>

Yet, imagining away the sounds of those horrid cannons firing through the fog wouldn't be beneficial in the least. She knew that much. It was either face these pirates with mind numbing fear, or curl in on herself and wait to be taken. As easy as the second option would have been, the first option would have a much, much better result.

It was her fault they were facing these demons now, anyway. It had been her idea to take this stupid, _stupid _shortcut route, despite the fog.

"Captain! Captain!" she slid to the lowest point she could reach, and ran across the boat. It struck her that something was off. Hadn't she been surrounded by her desperate boat mates just seconds prior? Now it was like she was the only living creature aboard.

As she searched, she found it wasn't just an odd feeling. There was no one. She was alone. _Where had everyone gone? _

She ducked, seeking cover as another blast was heard, and then shrieked when the boat rocked violently. She was the only one aboard, and one teenage girl didn't have enough weight to keep the boat from tipping at the next wave. Even if she survived these absurd pirates, the chances she'd make it to shore were slim.

She was almost more irritated than horrified to find that her options had changed. She could give herself up to the pirates, be killed by the pirates, or on the off chance she could get away, she could be rocked off the ship and drowned in freezing cold water, perhaps under the boat, before ever making it home.

She sat curled into the same ball she'd envisioned herself in when her options were much different, until the firing had stopped, and the men of the other ship began making their way over.

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><p>A man stooped to a crouch beside her. From the outrageous way he was dressed, she assumed he was the captain. His hair was black, and his eyes were as blue as her own. It seemed he was missing a hand. A weak opponent, should he be brought into a fight. The man gave her a condescending smile, and she gritting her teeth so as not to say anything insulting. If this was a different world, and she'd had her armor, and her sword, she would have taken this man down without taking two breaths. Perhaps taken control of his lesser pirates, and found out where the hell her former companions had disappeared to.<p>

But in this world, she sat unarmed, with a milky white dress billowing around her ankles, because they'd never think a little girl could fight. She wanted to be back in Wonderland so much she was almost sick.

"Ah, yes," the man grinned. "A young lady. Come, Smee! Isn't she such a fairer sight than the Dear Wendy?"

Smee sized her up with what she found a disgustingly sexist expression, and said, "Yes, I do very well agree, Captain!"

"Don't you think, if we bring her back with us, she'll make a much greater Mother than Pan could ever hope to find? Won't he be jealous?"

Alice twitched. _Mother? _She was sixteen!

"Yes, Sir, I'm sure Pan would be so jealous he couldn't see straight."

"What's your name, young lady?" the captain tilted her chin up with his hook. Alice thought about answering, but then decided she'd do much better if she could convince them she was a mute, weak child.

"She must be a silent one, eh, cap'n?" Smee drew the conclusion she wanted very quickly, without any painful punishment from the captain to say something.

"No matter, Smee. She will be more than nurturing enough as our mother- she will find her voice again doing what girls do best. Caring for any at hand. And then she will tell us stories like the Wendy Lady."

Mentally, Alice had already gone over several successful plans to get her hand on one of these imbecile's weapons and slice that self-satisfied grin off the captain's face.

"Young lady, from now on, your name is Bri," he said, as if that settled things. "and you will serve me. Captain Hook."

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><p><strong>Wow… truth be told I had completely lost interest in this idea when I first got to this story but as I wrote it… hmm… guess I have another multichaptered fic started! : - ) Review, please, I must know how other's liked it!<strong>


	2. Chapter 2

**Well… I just reread the first chapter to this… and I'm almost ashamed. I can see just how little motivation I had for it. It sucked. If you disagree, I thank you much, but dear gawd did it suck. Hopefully I'll pull this fic up to it's merits. **

**Disclaimer: If I, or anyone in my family had ever owned Peter Pan or Alice in Wonderland, do you understand that I'd be too busy doing nothing and making money than writing this? In fact, making money sounds good right now- why am I not doing that rather than writing these stupid profit-less fanfics? **

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><p>"Peter! Peter!" Tiger Lily slid into the hideout, interrupting a game of Cowboys and Indians the Lost Boys had been engaged in. She was out of breath- either because she'd been running a great distance, or because Wendy had instructed her to breathe heavily if she should ever have emergency information, it was hard to tell.<p>

"What is it, Tiger Lily?" Peter dropped effortlessly through the air at a gliding pace from his spot atop their armchair to stand in front of the girl.

"Hook- hook as captured-!" Tiger Lily's sentence trailed off as her gaze locked on the Darling girl, crouched down on the floor with the Lost Boys.

"Captured what, Princess?" Peter only called Tiger Lily that when he was getting aggravated with her, trying to imply that he was getting more formal with his annoyance. Tiger Lily, of course, blushed rather than got intimidated, and Wendy was quite miffed that Peter felt he must resort to flattery to get her to talk.

"I… thought it was the Wendy Lady…" she frowned, staring at Wendy as if to discern the difference between her and the object she'd spotted in the Captain's hold.

"It was probably a bird!" Tootles exclaimed. "From a distance, we all mistook Mother Wendy for a bird, so I'm sure from a distance, you could mistake a bird for Mother Wendy! Right?"

There were several nods of agreement, Pan's included. The atmosphere relaxed quite a bit. Only Wendy and John looked at each other, not quite trusting this piece of logic.

"No, no," Tiger Lily's voice was firm again. "I was closer than _that_. It was a lady, that is certain. I only thought she was Wendy because her hair was near the same color… though now that I see yours again, Miss Wendy, I find yours is closer to the color of corn than hers, if only by a little bit."

"So the pirates have found themselves a mother?" Peter tossed himself across a chair. "Why is that my concern?"

Tinker Bell, who had fluttered in somewhere in the middle of the conversation, shimmered an agreement.

"_Peter!_" Wendy sounded horrified. "You would let this girl die or be taken advantage of at the hands of a pirate rather than stop playing long enough to save her?"

"Yep," he said, leaning over backwards over the arm of the chair as far as he possibly could. The rush as the blood flowed to his head was entertaining.

Wendy sighed, aggravated, then went to stand in front of Tiger Lily. "Where are they holding her?" she asked, hand on her still only barely broken in sword. Like she really planned on doing this for herself- she tried to eye Peter in her peripheral vision, to see if he'd take the bait.

Peter's eyes flickered back to life, his expression hardening.

Yeah, like he was weak enough to let a girl fight a battle for him.

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><p>"Why isn't she saying anything?" one pirate in the front wondered loudly. The Captain very nearly shot him. The girl had been here for a couple of days, and she still had yet to speak a word.<p>

How long did it take her motherly love for them to drive her towards storytelling? Hook wasn't particularly known for his patience.

The girl eyed the crowd warily. Not one man there liked the look she was giving them- the Wendy Lady had been much nicer, and much more entertaining to have aboard. Her eyes were a few dozen degrees colder- her movements themselves less trusting.

"That'll be all for today, Bri," Hook said, trying to hide the annoyance in his tone with little success. "Smee? Take her to her room and bring her her meal."

"Aye aye, Cap'n," Smee got a hold of the girls wrists and held them behind her back. She didn't fight back. She didn't look at him either.

How "Bri" would have _loved _to just wrench her hands free and take control of the situation. But right now, she _was _Bri, and in a situation where she could simply be piled upon with pirates, she knew it was best she stay Bri till she could form a plan.

"You are _much _prettier than the Wendy Lady, Bri," Smee tried to flatter her once they were below deck and nearly at her room. She didn't doubt he was telling the truth- the look he'd given her when they'd first met was that of a forty-year-old pedophile. Not that Hook had looked at her any differently. Like she was an object.

Bri settled herself mutely on her bed, taking care never to look directly at her companion.

Smee pulled her long hair off her shoulders, and she twitched. Just because she didn't _refuse _his attempts to flirt didn't mean she _accepted _them.

"Your hair is a much purer color than hers," he continued, while she examined the wall across from her, wondering if any of these pirates had heard of toothpaste. "And your eyes are a much more pleasing color- like the Captains forget-me-not."

She assumed he meant in color, but she was dryly amused that he was trying to charm her by comparing her to his old, male boss.

Very suddenly, he took her chin in his hand and _forced _(with all the "force" of a child) her to look at him. It took much of her willpower to let him.

"The Captain _does _wish to take care of you…" he said. But then after watching her expression for several moments, he nodded, knowingly. "I know, he's not the most appealing suitor aboard is he? How about this- you and I, the next time this boat docks, we jump ship."

Bri very well thought she might gag. Her mouth automatically opened to give a sharp reply, but before she could condemn herself in this way, there was an audible explosion above them- then quieter noises you had to listen for, swords clashing, fists connecting… children laughing?

Someone said, _it's Pan again! _

Smee frowned, getting to his feet. "I'm sorry, Miss Bri," he said, as if he were doing her a disservice. "But I really must go on up and see what's happening…" It sounded like he already knew. "We'll continue this later I promise… just _stay here._"

She nodded and he left, in a very big rush. She felt a large grin spread across her face. This room was originally meant for any spare men they picked up- she eyed the rough trousers and sword given in the corner, untouched and ownerless.

Like she'd really keep a promise to that freak pedophile.

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><p><strong>Hmm… not much happened this chapter… I apologize…. But I hope it was still entertaining nonetheless. I think my one shots are longer than my chapters because I know oneshots aren't going to be continued. Eh. <strong>


	3. Chapter 3

**FINALLY I GET TO UPDATE THIS STORY :'DD I could cry. I appreciate the lovely reaction to the previous chapters, by the way. It was much more than I expected. **

**Disclaimer: Peter Pan and Alice and Wonderland are neither mine, and I make no money whatsoever from ANYTHING much less these fics (I need a job. -.-)**

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><p>The crowing. The retched <em>crowing. <em>Peter crowed, the boys crowed, even the bloody girls had taken up their leaders ridiculous crowing. It gave Hook such a migraine.

"Cap'n, they're back?" Smee finally returned from his assisting Mother Bri, asking what was probably the most imbecilic question Hook had ever heard. What, did he think that crowing was _birds?_

"Arm the east deck, Smee. You know the drill by now."

"Aye, Cap'n," he hopped off as dutifully as ever. Sometimes Hook wondered why he'd made this baffoon his first mate.

"Tiger Lily," Peter and Wendy hovered on either side of the Indian princess, while the other boys got the battle going. "Do you think you could identify the lady you saw if you saw her again?" This spot near the under-edge of the ship was more of a home-base than a hiding spot, as they always came to this exact area for time-outs during a fight.

Tiger Lily nodded. "Very sure. On a ship with men like this, she sticks out like a sore thumb."

"Alright. Do you have any idea where they're keeping her?"

She frowned. "I… don't know, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out."

Peter nodded, and said "Of course not…" then murmured, "if this were a little harder, it might actually be _fun_."

Wendy elbowed him roughly, and he shook his hair out of his face moodily, looking quite pointedly in the other direction from her. It was obvious he'd come to blame her for the break in his playtime.

"Wendy, you go with Tiger Lily to find the lady. I'll take care of Hook." He soared aboard ship, guarding the girls entrance momentarily before letting them take care of themselves (or in other words, be protected by whatever other boy happened to be in close proximity).

He frowned, letting his eyes scan the ship. Where was Hook hiding today?

It seemed the boys weren't having much trouble. A few pirates were actually distracted, calling over the side of the boat. From the look of the blood on the hard wood, Smee had had quite the accident. That mildly amused him- usually his brothers didn't have the courage or drive to truly wound anyone. He'd have to credit whoever did it later.

It had taken a mere few seconds from that thought, for him to find himself facedown on the ground, pain running from his neck down his back. Someone had kicked him- right above the shoulder blades. He groaned, rolling over, perhaps a bit more slowly than was smart.

"On guard," the voice was soft but held low, and certainly not Hook's aged rasp. Given a good look at the pirate before him, he found the man had golden blond hair, a sturdy looking hat, odd, uneven spectacles, and dusty trousers that looked like they lacked in use. He was slender, maybe a head shorter than what Peter believed to be his own height, and posed skillfully with a sword that could have quite easily already ended him.

Not on this ship, or any other, had he ever seen this pirate, and he took pride in the fact he knew the names, and weaknesses, of every pirate who had ever dared face him.

He took out his dagger and was on his feet in one motion, grinning, pain forgotten. Hell-o New Game.

"What is this lollygagging, man?" Hook growled, throwing around one of his men in anguish. The young pirate had been loitering, staring despairingly over the side of the boat during battle.

"Smee, Sir," the man gasped. Even at a closer view, the man was nameless to the Captain. "He's been- he's been taken down."

Hook gave the blood a disgusted look and looked over the side of the boat himself to find a much darker concentration of red spreading through the shallow water.

"_If _that was really Smee," growled the Captain. "He'll hop right back on board after the fight, just you wait. And if he's dead all power to him- wish following wouldn't include pain and defeat."

"But Sir, shouldn't we try to help him-?" his mouth opened one more time, then he stumbled to the floor, clutching where Hook had shot him.

"If I wanted to waste my life mourning people," he hissed. "I wouldn't have become a pirate."

"Wh-aoo!" the boy's hand slipped right off the platform he'd attempted to reach for landing, and as with every other time he'd made such a pathetic mistake, the Blonde Pirate twirled their sword and took a step back, as if they hadn't been about to swipe right where their sword would take off the teen's leg.

"Pan, is it?" the Pirate said lightly, clearing some room for thought as they analyzed their opponents foot patterns. It hadn't taken the captive long, upon choosing her random fake-out victim, to realize she'd happened upon the leader of the attacking force. He looked near seventeen, with shaggy hair and bright eyes. Though his fighting style was admittedly affective enough, his stance was more the stance of a child play-fighting in his bedroom than a warrior's, as was his hole-y technique. She could have ended this a long time ago, had her goal truly been to end it.

Her eyes darted back up, now judging the distance of the Captain from their fighting area yet again. The momentary distraction wasn't enough for Peter to get a hit in on her though- she dodged neatly and spun fast, playing up the theatrics of her moves more than usual as she had so much room, and as she was trying to pressure something specific.

"It is impolite to seek another's name, when you have yet to state your own," the boy said happily. Peter, not at all realizing how easy the Blonde pirate was going on him, thought he was holding his own quite well in this battle, and was just waiting for an opening.

She smirked. "Smart. But I already know your name by now, so I have to make no such exchange."

A few more rounds of what Peter found to be engaging and what she found to be casual fencing, and they were quite near to the Captain. The blonde checked their distance again feeling quite like she was manuevering herself laboriously over a chessboard. The difference being no matter how many times she hit this pawn, she couldn't let it die.

"I haven't seen one such as you on this ship before," the White Pawn pressed, oblivious to the Black King's ever-closing proximity.

"I'm new," the Pirate smiled widely, showing a perfectly innocent set of bright white teeth. The surprise at the pirate's attractive smile nearly made Peter slip up again.

"I shall never be old," Pan announced gallantly, "but I'm certainly not new."

"What are you a poet?" she sighed, exhausted with the formal speech. "I've never heard a guy your age talk all prim like that."

"I speak just fine, thank you very mu-u-ACH!" Pan was interrupted, as Hook took a handful of his hair and threw him out of range of the Blonde Pirates sword.

"At ease," Hook said darkly. "I'll take it from here."

Though her mind was speeding up a mile a minute, now that her real opponent had appeared, she relaxed her stance, so as not to alert the Captain.

Peter was on Hook in half a second- undeterred, if irritated, by being stopped in the middle of "defeating" his new opponent.

His hook and Pan's dagger collided multiple times. The girl was surprised. Pan looked much more dexterous compared to his older counterpart. She saw why he was feared- it all looked a lot more impressive than it was.

Hook finally got the upper hand, much to her disappointment, and Hook was nearly kneeing Pan to the side of the ship, right in the kidney. He held his hook to Pan's neck, vindictive pleasure evident on is face.

"And now Pan, you'll-" rather than wait for a cheesy ending note, the girl knocked the pirate out of the way, aiming a nice slice through his arm to slow him down. She held out a hand to Pan.

Seeming to find the whole, "common enemy" thing a very trustful way to say the circumstances had changed, Pan accepted, and let her help him get his footing.

"Thanks for the help, but…"

"You need to get out of the way, alright? This guy…"

"…Hook-"

"_is mine_." They blinked, then gave each other very hard, very exasperated looks.

"It doesn't matter in the least who I fight," the pirate huffed, getting to his feet and glaring murderously at the two. "But _on guard_. I'm not going to wait for you to _make up your minds._"

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><p><strong>Okay. On the one hand I hope this doesn't suck- on the other hand, I've done nothing but write this since I got home from school, and I don't care. I certainly worked hard enough on it. Ah, well. Review please my lovelies! (I don't even know why I started putting rate in other chaptersother fanfics.) If you think I should change something, tell me. And if I got something grammatically or spellingly wrong, (which I'm sure I did) tell me, because I don't have time to proofread this right now. **


	4. Chapter 4

**Dah tah da! Golden Warrior returns! **

**Disclaimer: I am not famous, and none of my original work is famous, so quite logically, neither Peter Pan nor Alice in Wonderland is mine. I don't profit off of this more than I profit off of anything else. **

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><p>Needless to say, Hook didn't stand a chance, regardless of who he fought. He'd only barely been holding his own against Pan, and now that the captive had wounded him a bit past his handicap, he'd be pathetic. But she had a score to settle- Smee's blood just hadn't been satisfying.<p>

Pan, on the other hand, was proving to be as stubborn as she was. So she thought about working with him on this.

Pshh, she'd never get in sync with this rodent without knowing his holey fighting style better. That'd just handicap them _both. _

So she thought about just giving the fight to Peter.

Hell no.

So, she reached for the back of her hat, messing with the rolled up lumps of hair she could feel beneath it.

Pan glanced at his ally/new rival cursorily. He was scratching the back of his neck in thought, patting at the ratty hat he wore, perhaps trying to decide which one of them would get the fight.

"Just stay out of my way, Scum," Pan said loudly, as he'd found many times if you sounded quite confident that you had the authority to say something, you'd be obeyed. He made an entertaining show of posing with his sword, in several seconds that for once, the Captain took advantage of, charging.

She smirked evenly.

The girl caught his wrist while he was still twirling ridiculously, and pinned him against the nearby wall by slicing her sword through loose sleeve. Her fake spectacles hit the ground from the sudden movement.

Hook was ambivalent to the pirate's betrayal. Proud of his aim, he switched directions quickly, thrusting the sword through the young pirates neck, grinning wickedly.

A slight pause. With what must have been the pirates last strength, he caught the sword that had flipped from Pan's grip in exchange for the one he'd used to pin him. Impressive, he'd admit, but too late. Ignoring Pan's protests at being disarmed, which quickly grew to horror at his ally's predicament, Hook watched the man carefully. He wanted to see the pain. He wanted to see the blonde pirate die, and he wanted to see him in pain as he died.

A few moments passed. No reaction. No pain. No anguish. Hook narrowed his eyes. Was that a smirk? Where was the blood? He jerked on the sword roughly, trying to ascertain the problem (or get a reaction) and still there was no blood. None. He jerked so hard he lost his grip on the sword.

The blonde pirate's hat fell off, and a few strands of a falling cascade of blonde hair proved to be the only fruit of Hook's slice.

Forget shocked. The Captain had never been more disgusted, more aggravated, more humiliated, more murderously angry in his life. It was like she'd sliced off his other hand.

"_Bri! _What do you think you're..?"

"My name," the girl caught the Captain's flying sword with one hand, brushing her hair out idly with her other. "is Alice. Slayer of the Jaberrwocky and Champion of Wonderland."

Peter busted out laughing. "O-old Man," he gasped, "you're really losing your touch. You're getting your butt kicked by a _girl_." He continued to laugh uproariously, completely forgetting the blonde was the very reason he was attached to the wall of the boat and helpless.

Alice rolled her eyes, and secured her grip on both swords, pointing one right at Hook's mouth.

"Surrender," she ordered. "Now."

Unarmed, with one arm still bleeding, James wasn't an idiot. He hissed and grimaced, but stood straight and said, "Alright. This is over. I surrend-"

"_Beg_," she jerked the sword precisely, but it appeared rather careless, and Hook flinched.

"F-fine, p-please, let us go. P-please. We won't- we won't come back," he was furious, but much too scared act on it.

"Alright, then, I'll hold you to that," Alice lowered the sword and took a step back.

Right when Hook's shoulders relaxed- so of course, right before his hand could even twitch towards his gun- Alice was back on him, sending warning slices directly through his leg and his uninjured arm. The Captain cried a word most wouldn't repeat.

"Are you insane?" Suddenly Peter wasn't so amused. "He's unarmed- you can't do that to someone unarmed! That's bad form! He could die from that!"

"Oh, _shut up _Pan," Alice sighed, leveling one of her swords lazily beneath his chin. He fell silent, though he was automatically pissed to find himself being handled so easily by a girl. A girl that was so weak, that he'd of course have defeated her by now, had he not gotten himself pinned to the wall at some point, by some person he refused to remember.

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><p>"Peter! Peter! Wha-" Wendy slowed to a halt a few steps away from the boy, confused and wary. She and Tiger Lily had been two of the last ones to figure out the battle was over, and abandon their positions. Peter was standing there, looking cross. The girl, from description most likely the girl they'd been looking for, was standing beside him, with two blood-stained swords and one relatively clean one.<p>

The Lost Boys, having no one left to fight since the pirates withdrawals, were all standing around idly. The girl didn't look like she was threatening Peter's life, standing there calmly, wearing mens' trousers and a curious look. But the tense atmosphere showed Peter, not being the one holding all three weapons, was most likely not the reason they were all waiting.

"Is this all of them?" she asked.

"I suppose so. I don't count them like chickens or something," Peter looked directly away from the blonde, signaling he was discomforted, so she should feel bad and apologize. Wendy knew, as well as Peter did, that she and Tiger Lily made the group complete.

The Boys watched the new lady with suspicion, but for most, curiosity was outweighing it. Who was she, and why was Peter mad at her?

"Hello everybody," she smiled with so much friendly energy, it melted the group in a moment. A few of the smaller ones forgot about Peter completely and tottered up to her, introducing themselves and asking her name.

"Alice," her smile grew wider, "My, look at how cute you all are!"

There really didn't seem to be anything wrong with her. The boys began to converge on the Alice Lady asking multiple questions. She seemed to be answering the ones she heard, and pretending like she hadn't heard ones she couldn't get to in a reasonable amount of time. Tiger Lily and Wendy exchanged a look, then the Indian Princess shrugged, deciding she was unconcerned, and headed back in the direction of her tribe, to report that if they saw a blonde-haired blue-eyed lady who wasn't Mother Wendy, they still weren't allowed to shoot her. Peter still insisted on looking in the exact opposite direction of Alice.

"Peter, you do realize you're being rude," Wendy tried, benevolently approaching the sulking boy.

The boy spun around so fast she started a bit, and was in her face. Wendy caught sight of Tinker Bell shimmering nearby. Whatever the little bug had whispered in his ear about the new Lady was probably problematic.

"_I'm _being rude? She _took my sword, _and battled Hook! Every one knows, _Hook's mine. _Who does she think she is, just a random girl fighting a pirate? And then injuring him while he was unarmed!" He looked around as if he was about to say something private, before getting closer to Wendy and speaking in a loud whisper- "She has _bad form _Wendy. That's just like James Hook. There has to be something wrong with her anyway, trying to fight like that and being a girl…"

"Peter, _Peter_! Calm down!" Wendy tried to pat him to the ground, for she knew the higher he rose, the more pleasant his anger-induced dream theaters would seem to him.

"Hey, Pan! Is there a problem?" At the sound of his name, Peter's eyes snapped to the new girl of their own accord.

"Umm! It's nothing! It's nothing really!" Wendy got a somewhat firm grip on Peter's upper arm, "Peter, apologize to our guest," she whispered as sharply as she could. She blinked, as she realized he was no longer listening to her. His face was still sulky and distracted, but the distraction seemed to have won out a bit.

It was nothing really. Peter was just noticing, for the Alice Lady to have passed for a male pirate, she looked _nothing _like one. The girl was smiling now, and her eyes had warmed several degrees from when she'd been fighting. Her hair really was a brighter color than Wendy's, and her face was nicely proportioned and all… not that he cared, but it was sort of… surprising…

"_Peter!_" Wendy scolded. "I said apologize."

"We were hoping the Alice Lady could stay, Peter!" one of the boys sitting near Alice's lap said loudly. "She says she knows some great stories! Maybe she could be like a second mother to us or something!"

"Or an older sister!" one suggested, oblivious.

"Yes, a sister would be great!" another one added.

"Sister Alice! Sister Alice!" the boys started to cheer.

"Peter!" now Wendy didn't want him to apologize- she wanted him to shut them down. Shut them down flat. "Come on, now… I mean, it would be okay but we.. Um we don't really…"

"You say she knows stories?" Peter asked, crossing his arms and taking care to look as cross as possible, oblivious to Wendy's mumbling beside him. Wendy gaped at him, and several little boys yelled "Yes!"

He pursed his lips, seeming to think hard.

"I'm sorry… I don't have anywhere else to go, tonight, but I don't want to be a bur-" Alice tried to say she wasn't going to stay long, but the boys were chanting "please"es all around her, drowning her out.

"_Peter!_" Wendy was nearly positive that the resounding tinkle she heard near her head was Tink's simultaneous cry.

"Fine. She can stay," Peter said, in a voice that said he hadn't wanted to concede, completely ignoring Wendy and Tinker Bell. There were resounding cheers from overexcited little boys, and Peter worked hard to storm himself to his home, to his leaf bed, leaving no doubt in anyone's minds that he was still extremely furious with their new arrival, because they… well they had to have committed some unknown crime, because… it was obvious.

When he turned towards home, it was the first time he'd looked away from Alice's face since she'd first said his name.

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><p><strong>I likey this one! :D Yeah. Well I can't let this author's note take long. Please review! Sorry I'm slow!<strong>


	5. Chapter 5

**I always feel so happy updating this one, because I always get so many awesome reviews for it. X) Wow, that sounded narcissistic, in a way. Ah well, I still like reviews. **

**Disclaimer: Peter Pan and Alice in Wonderland and everything I mean EVERYTHING else in this fanfic I could be sued for is not mine. Got it? Good.**

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><p>"Neverland?" Alice murmured, checking out her reflection in the lake. It amazed her how her hair had no knots and no leaves or dirt after sleeping nearly outside the night before. Michael and Tootles were sitting on either side of her, speaking of different things at the same time, both trying to explain more about this odd world she'd fallen into.<p>

"Yes, Sister Alice. This is Neverland. Everything's magical and no one ever grows up. That's why we all came here- because we never want to, and never _will _grow up to be old and stupid," Michael never paused between words or took a breath between sentences as he spoke.

Alice dipped her feet into the lake, fairly disappointed. For a good while, seeing the fairies and flying little boys, she'd been convinced she was back in Wonderland. She'd been hoping to see Mad Hatter and March Hare and everyone else again. What were the odds, after all, that there were _two _magic otherworlds?

Honestly, about the same odds that there was one.

"Miss Alice… I have some clothes prepared for you," Alice glanced briefly at the Boys' 'Mother Wendy' then returned her gaze to the pool of water. It seemed every female who caught wind of her had a problem with her. She kept getting the vibe that she wasn't wanted.

"I thought you might want to get out of those dirty boys' clothes- I apologize if this doesn't fit correctly, I'm only used to making for the boys and myself," Wendy's tone was helpful, but at the same time flat as she handed over the leaf-and-flowers dress that was most obviously too small for both Alice _and _Wendy. Tch. At least Tiger Lily tried to be subtle about her problems.

"I think I'll stick with what I have on, Miss," Alice responded, standing and straightening out her rolled up pant-legs.

"Whatever you want," Wendy smiled transparently, then blinked, suddenly running off in the other direction. Hmm. Seemed the younger boys had found real knives to play with.

"Sister Alice, watch out!" Michael shouted.

Alice looked at him oddly, as she very well would have noticed if any threats were approaching…

And then a hand gripped her ankle. She twitched. She hated when water creatures were that silent. She glanced down, and the mermaid attempted to jerk her foot under water. So as not to hurt her ankle holding herself up, she went to plan B, hopping right off the ground and shoving her free foot in the mermaid's face as they went below water.

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><p>"What <em>is <em>it, already?" Peter groaned, hovering upside down near the pool and glaring at Michael at the same time. The boy had been yelling for him for a good two minutes now.

"Sister Alice was dragged under by the mermaids!" he was panicking.

Peter smirked and righted himself. Well, once he'd bravely saved her, this new girl would learn her place. He checked his belt for his dagger. His dagger…

His dagger was _missing. _

At that precise moment, Alice's head popped above water, gasping for breath. She hadn't quite expected those mermaids to all gang up on her at once. They had good grips and hard scales, that had taken a minute.

"Sister Alice!" Michael and Tootles hopped to the edge of the lake, expressions worried and amazed. They'd been certain this lady had been attacked. Alice could tell by their looks that they'd never be able to comprehend she herself had fought off the mermaids, so she finished coughing and smiled with a "she let me go."

The young boys seemed to trust this, and held out hands to help her out of the lake. She took Michael's with an apologetic look at Tootles, and put her other hand out on the solid ground to pull up. She had a dagger in that hand.

Peter would have known that dagger even if it was covered in blood rather than wiped clean by the lake water.

"Wha- when did you take that?" Before the boys could help her out of the water completely, he grabbed her by the collar and lifted her up roughly. "It was in my belt! And besides that, what makes you think you can just disarm me and use my weapons like that? You shouldn't even be touching weapons when you don't need to- you're a _girl_."

"That hurts," she said, surprise clear in her voice. "You know, you're sorta choking a girl, Mr. 'Bad Form'."

"Shut up! I'm Father, I can do what I want," he said darkly, though he'd already dropped her the second the words 'Bad Form' had come out of her mouth.

"You're certainly not my father," she adjusted her damp shirt where the water had glued it to her body in an awkward position. "And furthermore, you can have this thing back if you want it." she tossed the dagger to him. "It must have fell on the ground when you were flying or something, cause I certainly didn't just jack it off your waist."

"You're ignoring me!" Peter barked in disbelief.

"What exactly did I ignore? I've responded all that was necessary to what you've said… oh wait, forgot to say sorry for picking up your dagger, but otherwise, I listened to everything you said. Seems like you're the one ignoring me."

"This is _ridiculous_! Why don't you just get your head on straight?" he growled.

"Why are you yelling?" she blinked, voice rising for the first time in the conversation. This was really, really ridiculous. She'd given the freaking dagger back. "I _apologized _already! Leave me alone!"

"You haven't apologized for _anything._"

"What, is this because I threatened you when we were fighting that pirate guy yesterday?" her brow furrowed. "Or was it because a girl upstaged you, so now everything has to be a competition?"

"_No _girl upstooges Peter Pan!" he flew so he was looking even farther down on her and accentuate his point, though he was sure what upstooge meant.

Alice was about to respond to that, but then the word "upstooge" processed in her mind. She thought about it, then she just shrugged and walked around him.

"Michael, Tootles, is there anything else you wanted to show me?"

"You're ignoring me again!" Peter practically roared.

"Yeah, this time I am," Alice smiled backwards but didn't look at him. "Because this fight is really trivial and going nowhere. Michael? Tootles?"

Michael and Tootles were standing frozen to the spot behind Peter, completely unmoving. There eyes darted between Peter and Alice, terrified. At this point, she noticed that every other boy in the area, plus Wendy and Tinker Bell, were all nearby, frozen and watching them in near identical states of fear and upset. Oh wow. Guess their paradise wasn't used to familial discord. Good thing she wasn't part of the family yet.

"Well I guess that's my cue to get lost," she gave half a smile and waved weakly at the young boys, hoping they'd relax a bit. "See ya."

Sister Alice walked right off in a random direction, ringing out her hair.

Wendy frowned. Jealousy was jealousy (though she certainly wasn't jealous), but people were also people. And wild animals didn't care for many people.

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><p><strong>Weeeeell I'll tell you what. I love my readers, I love my writing, I love my reviews, I love my fantasies, and I love Christmas break. :) Hope y'all enjoy any or some of this chapter. <strong>


	6. Chapter 6

**I'm not even going to give you an apology for this one. I'm just going to go straight into the excuse. MY PARENTS BECAME WEREWOLVES! I ONLY LIVED OFF BARK AND THE BLOOD OF MY FRIENDS FOR WEEKS! **

**Um… *cough*. That was actually more pathetic than an apology, so I think I'll go back to the truth. A full schedule of Honors Classes, with two EOC tests and final exams in each. Also, alluding to this first week of my summer where I have done nothing, I got my wisdom teeth out the first day out of school, and am only just now getting off the medication, which was not mixing well with my stress problems, summer project, and things scheduled by my school clubs. So I'm hoping that after today I can get back in the swing of things. But if I promise, you'll probably x out of this chapter, so I'll just finish by adding that I'm not sure if I'm going to do anything with my Glee and Naruto/Inception fics anytime soon, and I have a My Little Pony Friendship Is Magic OC fic I'm about to put up that I'm making for my friends, plus an Inkheart based MEGA fic that I really want to do to span over everything I know and love. But yeah, I might have to plan that one out, or maybe I'll just start writing it. (Maybe eventually I'll actually find an ORIGINAL idea I can stick to as well). **

**Disclaimer: I'm still too sleepy for this. But yeah, yeah, any idea that is real and owned in reality of this fic (I.e, Everything Alice in Wonderland or Peter Pan) belongs to someone else entirely.**

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><p>With a determined roar, Alice threw herself against the dagger once more, jabbing its blade into the tree. And yes, she had stolen the dagger again, slipping back into the play area before she couldn't find her way back. It wasn't hurting her conscience very much.<p>

Neverland had just been thrown on her, more abruptly than even her beloved Wonderland- at least she'd more or less walked into _that_ one. Wandering away from her engagement party after a rabit with a pocket watch- she'd practically asked for a major hiccup in the system like an entirely different world, there. But this time, she didn't feel like she deserved it. Nor had she dreamed of this place through her childhood, woken up from nightmares with wild stories about pirates and Indians on her lips- it was simply chance, this time, and she was carving her own fate, making enemies as she went- first James Hook, his already annihilated sidekick Smee, and now a young boy named Peter Pan, whose power rested solely in his name and connections.

She pulled the knife so that it carved the final stroke in a letter E. She smirked, examining her handiwork. She hoped the natives were as superstitious as she was guessing, otherwise Peter would control every inch of the land, never allowing her a moment's rest.

Yes, she'd done a good job of identifying her enemies. She'd most likely alienated most things that breathed on this island by angering Pan, the boy who swam with those deceitful mermaids, whom most Indian tribes accepted as an honorary member, who chatted with fairies like their tinkling was his mother tongue, who kept the pirates at arms length at most all times- in the few days since she'd deserted Pan and his boys, she hadn't been able to curl up under a tree without hearing some indignant little voice hiss his name, as if the boy was hiding in the roots below her head. Alice almost admired it. If she hadn't seen his innocence for herself, she would have expected Peter Pan to be a minor god of these parts, someone as loving and warm as the queen of Wonderland, or perhaps just cunning and manipulative enough to steal the minds and pump the heartbeats of anything that moved. Having met him, however, she would have preferred such guesses to the real thing- a brainless, charming, oversized little boy with no true concept of reality was impossible to work with, much too hard-headed to be pleased.

She got a firm grip on the branches of one of those ridiculous whispering trees and attempted to lift herself high up. She worked hard to pull herself unnecessarily through the leaves and thorns- she had never thought automatic regrooming would be a detriment, but it was proving a difficulty to her plans. Not that she was completely certain the details were necessary, but… It was hours later, in which Alice had to mess up her hair and reapply dirt to her skin twice, that a distant march could be heard through the close-hanging trees.

The tribe that approached her little circle of an opening in the forest was not Tiger Lily's. In fact, Knife Tamer, the tribe's leader, had no children and had refused to take a wife. There was nothing to link the Lost Boys through to this coarse, unimpressionable man, and so Peter and the Boys steered clear of his tribe. Knife Tamer was his real name, of course. Official names were chosen when children turned fifteen and, more often then not, suited the one named perfectly.

Once Knife Tamer and two other high ranking men had entered, Knife Tamer gave a sharp order in a practiced, tearing screech of a voice. He'd apparently yelled for a halt, because the two men on either side of him had frozen. No other foot even hinted at entering the space, not even a curious child's. He started an unimpressed pace around the area, stopping at each tree. Alice wasn't very confident now, even as the man traced his fingers over her markings in the tree. If he couldn't speak English, she doubted he'd be able to read it. Here, right now, he was staring at the one she'd inscribed with the words "LET LIVE THE ALICE". He looked at them each in turn, from "LUCK AWARDED TO CARE" to her final "PAIN FOR PAIN OF THE ALICE". It had been harder than she'd thought, to carve these messages into these trees. She'd simply been worried the tribe to find them wouldn't believe in them; she hadn't considered a language barrier. She still hadn't decided whether or not she should move when the angry looking man finally laid eyes on her. She was hanging upside down from a tree branch, by one foot she'd purposefully caught in between some branches. Her clothes were messed up, though her skin was already attempting to clean itself- her hair was still full of twigs, but not quite as tangled as she meant it to be in this moment. She didn't move. She refused to blink, and breathed as slowly as it was possible to do. She wasn't sure whether it would be best for them to think she was dead, but a near death state would be lovely. She stared back unblinkingly when the chief stared evenly into her eyes.

He began to tear-screech his orders again, and she did her best not to flinch.

* * *

><p>"I say we should let her be ripped to shreds," Peter repeated, pretending to look in each tree he flew by, barely focusing his gaze. Wendy was walking below him, and he had his voice just at a volume he expected she could hear. "She's already been out here for days, she more than likely already is."<p>

"Peter!" Wendy snapped, gripping Michael's shoulders when the boy's eyes went wide. "Don't say such things!"

"Well, it's _true_. Only Indians or fully certified Lost Boys can travel through this forest long without being killed. Girls get eaten within hours, they're favorites of the predators out here- especially ones who smell like flowers, they hate when their good meat smells like veggies, so they get angry."

Tootles's lower lip trembled, but he was the youngest of the boys who'd opted to come on with this search party, and every other child present attempted to look as if this information was just rolling off their backs. They didn't look up, or where they were going, and should one of them run into a tree, he would glare at it, as if daring it to accuse him of smelling like flowers.

Wendy wished she had something to throw at him, so he could come down and see the damage his was doing to his charges. But she had nothing, so she just put her hands over Tootles's ears, until he shook her off, the youngest present but still not keen on being babied. Sometimes she wondered if the island truly stopped aging at all.

Tinker Bell was giving Peter a fairly concentrated look, as if trying to solve a puzzle.

"And what are _you _thinking so hard about?" Wendy asked irritably, nearly swatting it from the boiling warm air beside her. Tinker Bell had apparently found the new arrival a more pressing matter (or more easily dealt with matter) than the fairly settled Mother Wendy. Rather then pull her hair and stick her tongue out at Wendy for speaking to her in the first place, Tink winked almost conspiratorially at her and floated up silkily to Peter, mischief on her face. The blonde girl on the ground frowned as the fairy tinkled in his ear. She really must remember to have Peter teach her fairy talk sometime. She simply could never get the knack of it by ear, as presumably Peter had.

The boy didn't appear to be listening, as he was lounging midair with the sun on his face, but that didn't mean much. And then his eyes fluttered open, and he blinked at the light in his eyes, as if the concept of such a thing as sunlight was beginning to escape him. Then he was suddenly upright, and he said-

"You know what- you gotta point, Tink. _Who _are we looking for again, Wendy? You're the only lady who's ever been around here."

Wendy scolded herself sharply at the relaxing, bouncy feeling that filled her stomach. Darn it, a good person wouldn't have been so happy, stupidly cheerful and even admittedly smug to find Peter was forgetting this Alice girl as easily as a passing fairy. They needed him to remember, to keep him on the search, and heavens, he certainly didn't need encouragement to forget _more _than he already did!

"Why if I'm not a clapping bunny basket's whisker doo-hicker," a smooth, soft voice came from the trees. The procession froze instantly, and Pan was on the ground, on high alert.

The warm air was disconcerting, almost more difficult to deal with than cold as the group stayed still, listening. No other noise was made. Nothing moved. Peter focused as completely as he could on the trees around them, looking as hard as he'd looked for anything in his life. He was the father, he would protect them, and nobody would ever slander his name. Michael tried to ask Wendy something, but she put a hand over his mouth, signaling to everyone else with a single finger to stay silent. Peter wasn't sure his own heart was still making noise.

"_Why are we being so quiet?" _the smooth voice whispered, curious, into Peter's ear.

The group dispersed so fast the Mad Hatter was left completely and utterly bewildered, staring at the places in the trees they'd attempted to disappear that he knew they still hid at. His pale, painted face was bemused as he focused on one area that moved, one that one of the smallest children had vanished to. The traveling hat on his head was purple, his favorite, and sized so that though it looked about three times too big for his head, it actually fit him perfectly. His suit was very nice and neat, nothing from his travels showed to mess with his appearance. He sucked in grandly, then spit a full puddle right into the ground at his feet, waiting for the ripples to settle so he could see himself properly. No, his eyes were still bright and somewhat glowing, his hair still its magnificent orange. Why were they hiding from him?

"Hello," the Hatter called, stepping over his puddle towards the tree.

Wendy grabbed Tootles's arm and tore off, screaming "Run!" back to the others. Peter appeared in the clearing again, though the Hatter had really never lost track of him, and knocked him flat on his back, sitting on his chest. He fingered his belt with a triumphant expression.

When he realized his weapon was missing again, the loud string of curses he gave was nearly a whine. Suddenly, he remembered _exactly _who they'd come out here after. And until he had his weapon back, he was determined not to forget it again.

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><p><strong>Hmm… I'm not sure how I did with the Hatter. Ah, well, I've been desperate to do this next chapter for ages. And yeah, Knife Tamer… I made him up. Does the name sound awkward? I'm not sure. Please review, and so sorry again for leaving you guys hanging for what- half a year? More? I don't even remember anymore. I'm sure everyone gave up on this, so…. (curls up in corner and tries to think of more stories). Yeah. <strong>


	7. Author's Note

**Dear My Lovely Stupendous Awesome Readers Who Are Actually Amazing Enough to Read This, **

Yeah. So, I hate Authors' Notes, and yes, I hate them probably _just as much _as you do. So let's skip the apologies about this being an Author's Note rather than Chapter 7, skip the apologies about the deathly long amount of time I've left my writing in the dust, and move on to the meat of the situation, shall we?

Okay. So I want to write again. I will never have the brain power and energy to keep on in an organized fashion and keep a satisfying schedule, considering my past habits, so I'm deciding to work on new ones.

My new plan? I'm going to work on a new chapter to this fic, and aim to have it done within the next week. That is because I will love forever any of you who have stuck with me this long, and I've kept you waiting long enough already. Also because I know how cruel author's notes are from the fickle, inconstant writer, and don't want that pain to last very long. That being said- once I'm done with that, I'm going to actually make an attempt at planning and writing this ahead of time. Which will mean I'll think through what I wanna do rather than spinning stuff as I go along, also meaning that it'll be a "in my free time" thing, so rather than a "today I'm doing this many things, and I think I'll make this one of them" thing, it'll be a "if I have random down time in between things, after I give up on things, or just on a refreshing day where I'm caught up with everything else/on break" thing. What this means for you!:

PROS

This story will probably, (hopefully), grow in quality. This comes from planning, several more stages of revision and rereading, etc.

More consistency in the long run. If I can get a good head start of chapters written and typed up, than I can follow the examples of some of my more seasoned Fanfiction counterparts and have weekly, reliable updates on certain days of the week.

I'll most likely have more ideas, and more fluid, well-thought-out story lines, should I follow through and get this started.

Maybe, one day, fingers-crossed, Peter and Alice might actually FALL IN LOVE. (*COUGH* or be friends, that might be a good start *COUGH*) But seriously, am I the only one reading back who's noticed the lack of progression in this story? Sigh.

CONS

Time. Ah, yes, the catch. If I do manage to plan and longhand-write and type this piece, and morph it into one of my better works rather than a struggling affair I occasionally revisit, it may take a while for me to get started. And by get started, I mean post again. I'll want a good number of chapters already written so that I'm comfortable writing at my own pace behind everything, without the constant pressure of a weekly deadline that I know my schedule would not let me keep.

Once again, time. This time in the form of my overall life. I'm not built as the type who can work constantly and remain sane, yet I have a rigorous school/school-club schedule, attempts at learning more about the computer so that I can tackle some game design with an artistic friend of mine, and now this project I'm attempting to take on so I can stop neglecting my passion for creative writing. Not to mention, things I need to give attention every now and then, like college searches, big tests, friends (though I luckily kepe a small group), family, and since I'm selfish, leisure time. The leisure time will often cross into my writing, sure, but also my game design, and quite often will just be me laying around the house listening to headphones to quiet my brain for a little bit.

My point is pretty much that I think I've become one of my first anime crushes- Shikamaru Nara, with about 79 points less of an IQ by fairly unreliable and invalid test method.

Put more simply- I'm dumber than Shikamaru, but I'm a fairly smart kid who loves being a ninja against that better judging part of herself that says- "Hey! You're too lazy for this!" And ends up fairly irritated with her self-inflicted workload. Yeah.

Just bear with me. We all love each other, right?

And, just saying, I could name and shower love on the one or two constant reviewers I have, but that might hurt somebody's feelings if I missed them by chance. So I just shower love on everybody, and trust/hope that those constant reviewers are receiving it as well.

I hope eventually I can be worthy of you all.

**A Rose For Your Troubles, **

_**Chuk Folchart**_

P.S. No, I seriously do love you all.

P.S.S. ….Please, please, _please _don't shoot me if that Chatper Seven takes more than a week, all right? I'll seriously promise it won't be much longer than that, if I do miss the week thing.


	8. The Smell of Muchness

**So, here's the chapter, on time! (Encouraging for the future, isn't it?) I've figured out my new process, and it's working out fairly well- I even believe it may have made this my longest chapter yet. Notice I may have mispronounced the name of the Mad Hatter's signature dance move- since I didn't know how to spell it or say it, I decided to have one of the children be the one to actually say it so you could take the misspelling as the kid's mispronunciation. Otherwise- I hope this wasn't that bad. It felt, once I was done, like another filler chapter, but I promise you, this is my step towards chapters with progression- after this, things will get REAL…. And noting that, it may be a while before my next update. But I really feel like I'm doing good with this new method, we'll see. There may be typos, cause I have homework and studying to do that I'm putting off, but I wanted to go ahead and put this out there. **

**Disclaimer: I don't own any person, place, thing, or noun in this work. I do own Knife Tamer and Fourteen, but who cares about them? Just the poor writer at home who wants to eventually do her own original works…Whatever, no money is made from this anyways. **

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><p>The Hatter thought for a few moments, but with a decided shrug, kicked the boy who had tackled him right in the stomach. There was not as much force as there looked, but he still floated upwards with a grunt. He needed a moment to regain his focus- didn't this ugly man understand that? It seemed <em>everyone <em>had bad form nowadays.

The man reached around in random directions until he'd regained possession of his hat. He straightened himself up and sat Indian style, replacing his head gear with the air of someone who'd gained incredible patience over his lifetime.

"I just try to make friends," he mumbled, staring straight in front of him. "Just wanted to get to know the locals, and little boys decide they want to hurt me. There are many things I could do, many things… but what I _should _do…"

"Hey, old man!" Pan growled. "Stop mumbling to yourself and fight."

The Hatter blinked, returning to reality, and leaned leisurely to the side to dodge a kick Peter aimed at his head.

"Oh!" he frowned, as if only just noticing Peter now spinning overhead from the force of his missed blow. "Let's move on, then. I am Tarrant Hightopp, usually known as the Hatter. People call me mad, but most of the time, I haven't the slightest idea why." The smile he gave on this point was not very reassuring. "I come from Underland, in search of new alliances for the White Queen."

"I don't care where you're from," Peter righted himself and glared down at the Hatter. Funny, as he usually _wanted _the information of his new foes. "We have to finish our fight!"

"Peter, wait!" Wendy jumped from the underbrush and darted between he and the foreign visitor. Peter backed off, but groaned at the sky, impatient.

"Wen_dy_-" he whined, more of a disappointed son than Father.

"We can't just charge blindly," Wendy chided defensively. She held her hands up, hoping to steady the head of her adopted family. "He _seems _to be trying for peace here…"

The Hatter gave a self-important tug at his suit jacket, trying to refocus his straying thoughts. He blinked when a small hand tugged at his sleeve.

"Well, hello, my handsome, undersized person-figure," he gave a crooked smile and crouched to be on eye level with Michael. There was something ghostlike and steady in the way he held his stance. Though he'd made an effort to reduce his size, he looked the child as directly and somewhat coldly as he would have a peer or superior.

"You say you're from Wunderland…" Michael mumbled, uncomfortable on the receiving end of the Hatter's glowing stare.

"Underland," the Hatter corrected. "But that is a rather popular nickname from recent years…"

"Sister Alice is from there too, right?" he ventured, tentatively. "Are you from the same place as Sister Alice?"

The Hatter raised an eyebrow.

"Well… I don't quite know any Sisters, but I do hold dear to myself an Alice. A very nice Alice indeed- probably my favorite Alice of the Alices I've known. And my definite favorite tea guest."

Peter snorted. "Tea guest? She's barely a lady- fancies herself a warrior."

"A warrior? Ah! But that might be the very one!" he scrutinized his surroundings briefly, then decidedly gripped Wendy by the upper arm and pulled her towards him. She grimaced a bit- he wasn't being the gentlest about it. "About the size of this creature?" the Hatter wondered, shoving Wendy this way and that, as if she should cooperate like a rag doll or wax figurine. "An inch or two above or below this height? Head maybe a shade brighter yellow?"

Peter looked slightly confused- this man wasn't doing anything or threatening anything to Wendy, but she didn't look happy, either. He wasn't sure whether he should act the protective father anymore than he was sure what the unwelcome man was asking. Michael, too, looked a tad unsure, but Tink, trusted to show up and be insensitive when the need arose, tinkled a nod in the Hatter's direction. The Hatter tipped his hat politely in thanks, and ushered Wendy out of his bubble without sparing her a second glance.

"Then I shall join your makeshift crew of misfits! It would be a wonderful excuse to charm and bewilder my Alice once more- a privilege I'd never expected to have again. Hmm- must I refer to myself as a sibling now as well, then? Brother Hatter! Not as clean as Mad, but I like it all the same."

"I'm sorry, Mr. Hightopp," Wendy tried, twining her fingers nervously. "Um…we have… lost track of Sister Alice. We are out her to find her, actually."

The Hatter's eyes fastened onto Wendy with surprise, as if he'd only just realized she had the ability to speak.

"Missing?" he finally processed, after quite the awkward pause. "Nonsense! I couldn't misplace my Alice, even if she were hidden from me!" With that, the Hatter reached for his belt and unsheathed a long, slender sword from a heretofore unseen belt loop. Wendy pulled Michael behind her and Peter's eyebrows rose. He floated down in the Hatter's face, glaring.

"What do you think _you're _doing?"

"I think I'm being accused of something," the Hatter mumbled, twirling the sword with a practiced hand. "But I also think you should gather your charges because I'm _about _to be cleaning our way."

"Cleaning what way?" Peter asked, bluntly. "We're following a clear enough trail."

"No, you're not," he smiled, though it grew less friendly and more blank by the moment. "Because Alice is this way, sir!" He pointed his sword towards some thick underbrush nearby and promptly began to slash his way through it. Thoug hhe was starting to mumble in darker, quieter tones, he remained effective at creating a sizable path for his child-counterparts to follow.

Peter exchanged a look with Wendy- neither Father _nor _Mother was sure about this. So when Tinker jingled a bit irritably, motioning for them to follow, it was the only opinion that had been established and the only one that could be followed.

* * *

><p>Knife Tamer and the Trackers (as Alice grew to know they called themselves) proved more comprehensive than Alice had counted on. Though the trip to the camp had been less than hospitable, Alice had been treated pretty well since arriving. It wasn't her bed back home in England, but there was plenty of meat, plenty of space, and a surprising amount of tolerance once they had found the dagger on her person.<p>

They were so comprehensive, in fact, that Alice found herself a little embarrassed.

"You were lost in the forest," the girl whose living quarters she'd been thrown into's tone was very blunt. The living arrangement almost had enough size for the feel of a house, but from the papery structure of the walls and rather bare, simple insides, it was impossible to forget it was a tent.

"You speak English?" had been Alice's genius reply.

"How would we deal with neighboring peoples if we could not converse with them?" she asked reasonably. "Knife Tamer was amused by your messages in the trees- 'A spirited way to ask for help,' he said. It's not easy to get a laugh out of him- that's probably why he's keeping you."

Now completely humbled, Alice wandered the small living space, taking care not to make eye contact with her host. There were a few muted possessions scattered across the thickly grass floor, hidden like she was trying to downplay the fact she had them.

Alice crouched before one particular patch and touched one simple, shining piece of metal.

"_You._"

The call to attention was so sharp, Alice sat straight up, hands in the air, certain she'd offended someone or something.

The girl was ignoring this, strolling up to her as briskly as was polite.

"Knife Tamer wished for this to be returned to you," she said. She held a nice cloth pouch. The familiar handle of Peter's dagger poked from the fabric.

Alice noticed, as she reached for it, that her host wasn't offering her the handle. In fact, the Indian girl had a fairly firm grip on it, so if the blade hadn't been covered, Alice would have figured she was looking for a fight.

Not to be handled, Alice curled her fingers around the blade, a tad relieved to find the fabric was thicker than it looked, difficult to cut. The girl released it automatically, without a struggle. Alice stared into the girl's blank, apathetic features, processing the lack of feeling. Realizing it was probably fake.

"What's your name?" Alice asked.

"I don't have one yet."

Alice blinked. She'd heard of this rule before, but this girl was living alone-how young _was _she?

"I am fourteen," she said, cleaning up the remainder of some crafts in a corner.

"Um…your _name _is Fourteen?" Alice hoped, not quite comfortable with the idea that her face could be read so easily.

"I am fourteen years old," she said, never missing a beat. "But you may call me Fourteen if you wish."

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><p>"You should teach <em>me <em>how to Fatterwagon, Hatter!" John said, stumbling along right behind the man.

The Hatter slashed blindly through the trees, never looking back at the child or lowering his sword, but his tone was decently pleasant and consistent, now.

"Maybe on a better occasion," he considered. "Once you've developed you're abilities as a half-owl whodjamawhatsit."

"As a what?"

"Don't listen to him," Peter hovered above the two, glowering bitterly at the Hatter's glinting weapon. "He's nothing but a nasty old man. Once he leads us to Al, he's out."

"I was always sure her name was Alice," was the multihued man's only reply.

"Her name _is _Alice," Michael muttered indignantly, a few steps back.

"If she wants to be a boy, then she should have a boy's name," Peter shrugged.

"What an odd want to want for such a charming girl,"the Hatter commented, blinking up at the boy. "But I suppose nothing's impossible. In any case, we're here."

Peter glanced haughtily over his head.

"No, we're not."

"I think I know where I'm going," said the foreign hatter.

"This is Knife Tamer's place," Peter explained, voice unwontedly practical and sobered. "We're not welcome on this land."

"Well, then, it's certainly not the best place for our Alice to be stranded, now is it?"

"What makes you so sure she's there, anyway?" Peter countered, rather then thinking through the question. He wasn't in the mood to be guilted into caring for this girl at the moment.

"I'd know the right Alice anywhere," the Mad Hatter grinned. It was the fullest smile he'd given them since appearing. "You can smell her muchness miles away."

* * *

><p><strong>Hope you liked it, lovelies. I think I've gotten my writing habits back on track, crossed fingers everyone! Review, please. *Dives reluctantly into piles of homework*<strong>


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